I think I mentioned my trip to Columbus, NE in a previous post for a video competition – I was the chaperone and two of my students, Carissa and Kelsey, were competing. Here they are, hard at work.

Well, they won first place! They did an awesome job, and had a great attitude about the whole thing. So that was really cool.

The video below shows them receives their medals and such onstage, where they had to get up onto this awkwardly tall stand. Notice the teamwork they exhibited in getting to the top – that’s what wins gold medals, folks. Winning state qualified them for the National competition in Kansas City, Missouri. So I’ll be returning with an update at the end of June.

fireside, originally uploaded by NotoriousLBT.

This was a test to be able to use my Flickr account to post photos here. It worked!

This was a photo I took back in the day with my old Lomo camera of the Fireside Bowl, an all-ages venue in Chicago. As the name suggests, it’s actually a bowling alley, but they put on some great shows there too (not on the lanes, but beside them).

There is a great article in the NY Times magazine today on the non-profit organization Dream for Darfur. The organization is using the Olympics as leverage to pressure China to end their support of the Sudan government and their actions, such as supplying weapons and oil, that have allowed the genocide in Darfur to continue. You can go here to read more about the direct link China has to the genocide in Darfur.

I urge you to read the article, it’s a really interesting read on a small organization that has made major gains. And if you go to their website it is really easy and quick to send e-mails to the corporate sponsors of the Olympics, the UN, Ambassadors, and the International Olympic Committee.

I am so happy that major news outlets like the Times have been covering China’s egregious actions with regards to human rights and freedom of the press and religion. The Times has had a few articles on the Tibetan “riots” and the violence that Tibetan protestors were encountered with by the Chinese forces. The articles have also given some background on the China/Tibet conflict, something that I think many people are still unaware of. The confluence of these two movements (Save Darfur and Free Tibet) and the unrest in China and the subsequent news coverage (much of it being suppressed by China) and the efforts by groups such as Dream for Darfur make actual change seem possible. At the very least, more awareness is brought about. But awareness is not enough, and there is opportunity for real change and action right now. And that is thrilling.

This weekend I ate at Glur’s Tavern, established 1876, the oldest tavern in Nebraska and much of the west. Buffalo Bill would eat there on his frequent visits to Columbus, Nebraska. I seriously regret not taking photos. I found the above image at www.nebraskahistory.org. Anyway, their menu was on a small piece of paper in a plastic holder on the table. Options included such staples as: hamburger, cheeseburger, onion rings, fries (cajun and regular), and fried gizzards. The food came out on tiny paper plates, the cook/server (and probably owner, who I hoped was named Glur) brought our food out on tiny paper plates, his finger pressed firmly into the top of the buns, breaking the bread. I think a hamburger cost $1.50 or so. I think I may have to venture back to Columbus, to explore the town further and document the experience properly with photos. It was a quaint, old (mixed with the new and slightly depressing), strange town.

I have stumbled (or driven) across so many small, interesting, antiquated towns in Nebraska. They’re everywhere and they are SO interesting and visual. I think I need to embark on some sort of art/video/photography project that is about these outdated, Western towns. Nebraska is so interesting. For example, I was at a state-wide competition where a bunch of high schools students from all over the state were participating. I can’t tell you how many teen boys I saw in Wranglers, cowboy boots, big rodeo buckled belts, flannels, etc. It’s 2007. And they’re in high school. I will say that look is not a majority, but it’s certainly not seen as an oddity here. Maybe I’ll do a documentary on modern day teenage cowboys. Maybe I shouldn’t be posting all of my internal, creative ideas on here. My point is that Nebraska never ceases to amaze me, and I’m saying that in the most loving, non-ironic or sarcastic or condescending way possible. I have come across so many fascinating and wonderful places and people in the state, and I look forward to further exploration and discovery.

Here’s an article I have in this week’s Reader, on the Champaign, Illinois band Headlights.

I’m in Columbus, Nebraska at the moment, writing from a Sleep Inn. I’m here for a film/video competition that two of my students are competing in, and it’s been going really well. The only downside is that I have to miss the Honeybee/Evangelicals/Headlights and Jens Lekman shows tonight. The upside is that I’ve had two A&W root beer floats from here, and they were really good.

Below is a photo from the Darren Kean show on Wednesday night.

This week’s “Meeting the Band” for City Weekly was Honeybee. Honeybee is a group of great people making great music. My friend Will wrote the article, and I took the photos. The scanning didn’t work out so well; the quality isn’t so great and the first page didn’t fit on the scanner. To read the whole interview in a possibly easier format, you can go here: Honeybee article.

I came across this NY Times article, My Private Screening With Pauline Kael, when I was looking for Kael’s famous review for The New Yorker on Bonnie and Clyde. That review was her first for the magazine, a detail I just discovered.

The article was written by Wes Anderson in 1999, shortly after he finished Rushmore. It’s funny, interesting, and gives some insight into both personalities.

I have a new song love, and it’s This is Not a Test by She & Him. I have included it below for your listening pleasure. If you haven’t heard by now, She & Him are the duo of M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel. Their debut album Volume One is nice spring pop; if only spring was really here. I believe that M. Ward actually makes a trumpet noise with his mouth during this song, which is 1/4 the reason I really like it, so I hope that is true.

This Is Not A Test

The Beatles should have used this as an album cover. These are our “hidden” Easter baskets.

A-ha!

Tricky!

Dye-ing eggs is kind of a Zen art form, like fishing without the gross hook part.

Look how happy Kyle is. I must admit his eggs were quite eye-catching.

All of our creations together. My eggs are in the closest carton. Aren’t they beautiful?